Mail-bag crane



PATENTED MAR. 1, 1904.

M. LALLY.

MAIL BAG CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED we. 10,1903.

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PATENTED MAR. 1, 1904.

M. LALLY. MAIL BAG CRANE.

APPLICATION-FILED AUG. 10.1903.

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Patented March 1, 1904.

PATENT. OFFICE.

MICHAELLALLY, or NORTH LAWRENCE, OHIO.

. MAIL-BAG CRANE.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 753,501, dated March 1, 1904. Application filed August 10,1903, Serial No. 169,023. \No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MICHAEL LALLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Lawrence, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Mail-Bag Crane, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to mail-bag cranes for use upon mail-cars.

The object of the invention is to-provide an improved form of mail-bag crane for use up on mail-cars by means of which a mail-bag may be securely held in suitable position for engagement by a mail-bag catcher ofthe ordinary gooseneck type mountedat the side of the railway-track.

- A special object of the invention is to provide in a mail-bag crane for use upon mailcars means for screening the mail-bag from the action of the wind, and thereby preventing accidental removal of the bag from the supporting devices of the crane by the air-currents produced by natural causes or the rapid movement of the mail-car- Another object of the invention is to provide in a mail-bag crane for use on mail-cars a form of screen adapted to protect the mailbag from the action of the air-currents and so formed as to offer a minimum of resistance to the currents of air.

With the objects above stated and others in view, which will appear .as the invention is more fully disclosed, the same consists in the construction and combination of parts of a mail-bag crane hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which corresponding parts are designated by the'same characters of reference in the several views in which they'appear, it being understood that various changes may be made in the form, proportions, and other minor details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of amai'l-car, showing the mail-bag crane mounted thereon in operative position and showing also in perspective the mail-bag catcher adapted for use in con- 'nection with the mail-crane of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in, rear elevation of the mailbag crane and the members by means of which it is supported-on the car.- Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section-through the mail-bag crane on the median line of the wind-shields. Fig. 4: is a view in horizontal section through the lower part of the wind-shield, and Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the mode of supporting the hook of the mail-bagcatcher used in connection with the improved form ofmail-crane.

' Referringto the drawings by reference characters, W designates the side wall of a mailcar, having a door D, in which is mounted the usual mail-bag catcher C, and having pivotally mounted at oneside thereof a crane, (designated generally as A.) The crane comprises a main shaft 1,- rounded at the extremities to present journals 2. The lower journal is inserted in an opening 3 in the floor of the car and provided, preferably, with a bearing-plate 4, and the upper journal is inserted in a bracket 5, attached to the side wall of the car. Rigidlysecured to the shaft 1 and disposed in planes at right angles thereto are a plurality of curved supporting-arms 6, of which there are preferably four. The arms 6 are arranged in pairs, as shown, and are braced apart by a square brace-rod ,7, parallel to the shaft 1 and adjacent thereto, which passes through suitably-shaped openings-in the arms 6. Each pair of arms 6 is connected by a pair of square connecting-bars 8, one of which carries a springfinger- 9, which'bridges the opening between the bars 8 and has the free end thereof held normally in contact with the other bar. Between the bars 8 is a bar 10, which is rigidly attached to the curved arm-6 and which has projecting rearwardly therefrom a pin or stud 11. The stud 11 is placed near the upper end of the bar 10, and when the crane is in operative position the stud 11 projects directly rearward in a line parallel with the side of the car. This stud forms a support upon which the mail-bag (designated generally as M, and shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3) is supported. Between the lower pair of arms 6 and midway between the connecting-bars 8 is rigidly supported a vertical bar 12, having the rear surface thereof provided with'a plurality of notches 13, forming a rack, and slid ably mounted upon the bar 12 is an armrle, having in the end thereof an oblong eye 15, through which the bar 12 passes. The arm 14 is adapted to engage the lower end of the of wind-shields 16, one of which is attached to the forward surface of each pair of curved arms 6 and secured thereto in any suitable manner. The wind-shields 16 are curved to correspond generally to the curvature of the arms 6; but each shield is provided at the front thereof with a vertical rib or ridge 17, which lies approximately in the middleof its convex curvature. The rib or ridge 17 on each of the shields 16 acts in, the same manner that the prow of a boat does in' cleaving the waterthat is to say, it divides the body of air in front of each shield and causes it to slip over the curved surfaces of each shield with a minimum amount of friction.

When the mail-bag is supported in the crane,

as described in the preceding paragraphs, only the central portion thereof, which is constricted in order to enable a mail-bag catcher to engage more readily therewith to remove the-bag from the crane, will be exposed to the action of currents of air generated by theforward movement of the mail-car, and the surface so exposed to the air-currents is so small that the accidental removal of the bag from the crane by such air-currents is rendered impossible.

The spring-fingers 9, carried by the outer one of each pair of bars 8, are provided to prevent any possibility of the removal of the mail-bag from the stud 11 undertheaction of The preferred form of catcher which it is intended will be provided at the side of. the railway-track to remove a mail-bag from the mail-car, as hereinbefore described, comprises a gooseneck 18, pivotally supported on a bracket 19, secured in any suitable manner to" a standard or post 20 at the side of the track. The gooseneck 18 is allowed when not in use to swing downward into contact with the sides of the post 20 and when in use is supported in a substantially horizontal position by means of a pivoted arm 21, notched at the free ex tremity thereof, as shown, and supported by means of a bracket 22, attached tothe post 20;

In order to pull the mail-bag crane out of the way when not in use, I provide on the in- 28, placed in suitable position to engage-with the upper edge of the lower wind-shield of door-frame, as seen in- Fig; 1.

practically the crane to holdthe crane in contact with the side Wall of the car.

When the mail-crane is in use, it projects out through the door in the side Wall of the car andis held in proper position by the contact of the curved arm 6 with the side of the No other means for holding the crane in position is necessary, as the pressure of the air against the wind-shields will insure contact of the arms with the door-frame, and consequently proper support of the frame.

While the crane has been shown as attached to only one side of a mail-car, it is intended that the crane shall be mounted on each side of the car in order to deliver mail-bags on either side of the railway-track, according to the location of the catchers provided to removeth'e mailbags from the cranes. I

As the mail-bag catcher C-(showrr on the mail-car) is-placedirr frontof the: crane A, it is to be understood that the stationary crane usually provided at the side of therailwaytrack to present mail-bags for removal by the catcher Cwijllbe placed on the side of the track opposite the catcher, so that the mailbag may be delivered from the-crane A at one side of the mail-car and a mail-bag be caught at-the same time by'the catcher C at the opposite side of the car.

While my improved form of mail-bag crane is intended primarily for use upon a mail-car and I have described and illustrated its use in connection therewith, it is to be-understood 5 that the" crane may beempl'oyed for supporting mail-bags atthe side of the railway-track ifor engagement by catchers,- such as that shown at-(J on the mail-car, and I do not desire to be limited to its use-upon mail-cars.-

"Having'thus described the construction and use of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mail-bag crane, the combination with suitable bag-supporting devices of a p wind-shield. air-currents or by the jarring of the mail-car.

2. In-a mail-bag crane, the combination with bag-supporting devices of a wind-shield presenting a convex forward surface.-

3. In a mail ---bag crane, the combination with bag-supporting devices, of a wind-shield presenting a convex forward surface and having a vertical ridge substantial-1y in the median line of said convex surface.

4. In a mail -bag crane, the combination with upper and lower bag-engaging means, of upper and lower wind-shields spaced apart to expose the middle-portion of the mail-bag.

5. In a mailbag crane, the combination with bag-supporting devices,- of a wind-shield, and a spring-finger to prevent the accidental removal" of a mail-bag fromsaid supporting 1 devices. ner surface of the side wall of the car a hook 6'. Ina: mail -'bag crane, the combinationof an upper supportcomprising a rearwardlydisposed rlgidarm= anda lower bag-stretching member mounted for vertical movement, and means for locking said bag-stretching member at any desired point.

7. In a mailbagcrane, the combination with a shaft adapted to be pivotally mounted within a mail-car, of curved arms carried by said shaft and adapted to project outward through a door in the side of the mail-car, mail-bag-supporting devices carried by said curved arms, and means for preventing the accidental removal of a mail-bag from said supporting devices.

8. In a mail-bag crane, the combination with a shaft adapted to be pivotally mounted within a mail-car, of double-curved arms rigidly secured to said shaft and adapted to project outward through a car-door and to abut MICHAEL LALLY.

Witnesses:

GEO. F. PoLLooK, DANIEL Mossor. 

